


Once Upon a Time...

by AutumnLeavesCoffeeDreams



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Development, Drama, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fantasy, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Yachi Hitoka-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26002006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnLeavesCoffeeDreams/pseuds/AutumnLeavesCoffeeDreams
Summary: As Karasuno and other teams gather for a summer-long training camp, Yachi struggles to figure out where she fits into the team dynamics. Not outspoken and assertive like Ukai, not athletic or inspiring like Daichi, and not captivating like Kiyoko... she is just simply there.When she falls victim to an accidental injury, Yachi finds herself transported to a world where all her friends have become trapped in fairy tales. It's up to her to help them finish their stories, but what will happen if the final tale has a fatal ending?
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Once Upon a Time...

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by many things, the first and foremost being that I love to write the players from Yachi's point of view. Also, I love fairy tale AUs so I thought it would be a fun challenge to try and incorporate that into a story!
> 
> A few things I want to let readers know:
> 
> \- Although I tried to fit as many characters into the story, many had to be left out for various reasons. My apologies if your favorite did not make it in :/  
> \- I know that a training camp with Date Tech, Aobajohsai, and Shiratorizawa is not canon but I really wanted to work characters from those teams into the story, and this seemed like the most natural way. Also, when I wrote this story Season 4 had not come out yet so I'm sorry to say none of those characters will be in this story. I'm sorry!  
> \- There really isn't any romance EXCEPT for a bit of a ship tease towards the end that is more self-indulgent than anything (I'm no actually sorry for this). This story will primarily focus on Yachi's relationships with the players and her on self-growth.
> 
> Enjoy the story!

Yachi awoke to the sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind. The soft breeze felt cool and calming, tempting Yachi to fall back asleep. All of her anxieties seemed to slip away.

"I guess I can't lay here all day," she murmured wistfully, pushing herself up to a sitting position. "I really need to get back to the gym."

Yachi allowed herself to take in the beauty of the woods surrounding her. Squirrels hopped playfully from tree to tree while she spotted a fawn quietly nibbling on some berries. A few yards away, she spotted what looked like the rest of the deer's family, gracefully wading through the tall grass.

Wait a minute…

Trees? Woods? _Deer?_

"W-WHERE IS TOKYO?!" Yachi sprung to her feet, her head whipping back and forth to gain her bearings. Instead of waking up in the gymnasium, or even right outside of it, she found herself surround by a lush green forest like something out of a storybook, not a single person nor building in sight.

The poor girl could feel her anxiety skyrocketing she attempted to calm herself down. “Okay, Hitoka, _don’t panic_. This must only be a dream… a very _vivid_ dream. If it’s a dream, I shouldn’t feel any pain, right?”

Taking a few deep breaths, Yachi proceeded to pinch herself on her arm.

She yelped at the momentary burst of pain.

“IT’S NOT A DREAM!” wailed Yachi as she began to pace back and forth frantically. “But how?! I was at the gym only a minute ago – oh my gosh! Was I kidnapped by a rival team and then dumped in the middle of the woods where I would never be found?! No one knows I’m here! I don’t even know where ‘here’ is!"

_Yachi, now is not he time to lose your cool!_ Her conscious scolded. _Focus. What happened before you woke up?_

Closing her eyes, bits and pieces of her memory returned...

* * *

_"Su-sumimasen!" cried Yachi as she yet again collided into another player. Tasked bringing a crate of water bottles to the gym, Yachi found it difficult to carry and maneuver around the hallways of the complex. There were so many players walking around it made her anxious and in worrying about running into other people, she had stumbled into someone else.  
_

_"Hey Yachi, it's just me."  
_

_Yachi looked up to see Karasuno's captain, Daichi Sawamura, staring at her. His expression was friendly, though there was an underlying tone of concern. "You taking those to the gym?"  
_

_"Yeah, one of the other team's managers asked me to."  
_

_"Would you like some help with that? I don't mind..." He reached out to grab the crate from her, only to have her draw it closer to her chest like a dragon protecting its treasure.  
_

_"N-no! With all due respect, I can do it myself! It was the duty I was assigned!"  
_

_Daichi chuckled. "You kinda sound like a shounen protagonist. Seriously though, it looks really heavy. I'm heading to the gym anyways, so I don't mind taking it."_

_"Thank you for offering, but I'll carry it. You should save your strength for the practice match!"  
_

_Just as she turned around to continue to the gym, Daichi's eyes widened. "Yachi, watch o-!"  
_

_His warning came too late as Yachi had once again walked right into someone else. This time, much to Yachi's horror, the bottles tumbled out of the crate and onto the ground. Water began to leak out of the damaged bottles and Yachi found herself sprawled out on the floor next to them. Everyone in the hallway had stopped to look, making Yachi feel all the more ashamed and self-conscious.  
_

_"Are you okay, Yachi?" Daichi knelt down next to her and helped her sit up. He could see her face flushing red from embarrassment and knew he needed to the the attention off of her.  
_

_"Oi!" He barked to the players. "Are you just going to stand around poking into other people's businesses or are you here to actually play volleyball? Move it!"  
_

_The crowd immediately dispersed except for Daichi and the person Yachi had run into.  
_

_"I'm so sorry, Yachi-san!" Ennoshita knelt down beside her and began to gather the busted bottles. "I was trying to round up the second years and wasn't paying attention to my surroundings."  
_

_Seeing the guilty look on his face, Yachi waved her hand frantically and said, "No! It was my mistake!"  
_

_After studying her for a moment, Ennoshita frowned, though it was out of concern rather than anger. "It looks like you got water all over your clothes. You might want to change before you get sick or something. Daichi and I can clean up here."  
_

_Daichi let out a hearty laugh and slapped Ennoshita on the back, hard enough to elicit an 'oof' from the second year. "Look at you! I haven't even graduated yet and you're already turning into the team parent."  
_

_Ennoshita's face turned red. Yachi almost smiled, but she quickly remembered her accident and the state of her appearance. She jumped to her feet and bowed to the boys. "I'm so sorry for all the trouble! Thank you for your help!"  
_

_She turned and dashed away before either of them could reply, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment as she tried to ignore the quesitoning stares of the players she passed.  
_

* * *

Looking back on that memory made Yachi feel sick. When she had boldly told her mother that she was going to become a manager for the volleyball team, she had felt empowered and excited. However, she underestimated just how much hard work was involved. Trying to organize her study sessions around practices as well as work on graphic designs for the team had caused to her to feel scatterbrained. It didn't help that she seemed to have fallen into a rut of horrible luck... which only seemed to be proven correct as she found herself randomly stranded in a forest.

Quitting the team wasn't an option in her book, but neither was shirking her studies. If Tsukishima could find time to practice and still get good grades, she had no excuse. She had to press on and prove to her herself that she could make it all work.

"And that was exact line of thinking that got me here in the first place," Yachi mumbled to herself.

* * *

_Once everyone had gathered in the gym, a few of the opposing teams introduced themselves to newcomers while other began to warm up. Yachi had her back against the wall, determined to not get in anyone's way again. Not too far away from her, some of the captains were talking about equipment.  
_

_“This net looks like it’s seen better days,” Kuroo muttered, holding up the shabby-looking equipment for the other captains to see. “If one of our spike’s hit it, the thing would probably disintegrate.”_

_“I saw a storage closet near the back of the gymnasium,” Akaashi pointed out. “We’ll most likely find a spare net in there.”_

_"It'll have to wait until after warm-ups," Daichi said, glancing at his watch. "We're behind enough as it is."  
_

_Oikawa huffed. "You can blame your Freak Duo for that one. Knocking over a cart of volleyballs and forcing us to chase them around wasn't exactly how we wanted to start off practice."_

_"Oi, stop you're complaining," growled Iwaizumi, causing Oikawa to jump slightly.  
_

_"Um... excuse me..."_

_Yachi cringed as every single player turned to face her and for a brief moment, she felt like she was in that anime about man-eating Titans_ _and she was about to be devoured. However, she wouldn't let her sudden burst of courage go to waste._ _"I hate to interrupt but... I-I could get it for you! Leave it to me!"  
_

_"Yachi, you don't have to worry about-" Daichi's held up his hand to stop Sugawara, giving his vice captain a look Yachi could not interpret, though the latter seemed to get the idea. After a brief pause, Sugawara turned to Yachi again and gave her the same encouraging smile he would give to his teammates on the court. "Ah, actually that's really kind of you to offer. We would really appreciate it."_

_The other players verbally echoed Sugawara's sentiments before dispersing to their respective teams. Even Kuroo shot the girl a quick wink before leaving, and Yachi could practically feel her cheeks burning at the interaction.  
_

_Yachi nodded and in a half-determined, half-anxious gait she marched off through the door marked 'STORAGE'._

* * *

Unfortunately, that was all Yachi could remember. She tried to concentrate and force the rest of her memory to return, but all she received was a throbbing headache.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted smoke rising from the woods to her right. Smoke meant there was a fire, and if there was a fire _someone_ had to have started it. There might be someone there that could help her...

_... Unless it's a band of escaped convicts, in which case they might -_

Yachi slapped her cheeks, trying to stop that horrible train of thought. If she was stuck in the middle of the woods, she couldn't just wait around for someone to find her. She took in a deep breath and marched into the forest. Luckily for her, the forest wasn't thick and full of brush and brambles; in fact, the woods looked quite picturesque... like something out of a fantasy.

After a few minutes she reached another clearing; the source of the smoke - a chimney atop a small log cabin - lay in the center. Yachi approached the cabin cautiously, looking around but failing to see any residents. She raised her fist to knock on the door but hesitated. Placing her ear to the door, she listened for voices or movement; she was met with silence.

Startling the girl out of her trance with an 'eek!', a deep gurgling sound emanated from Yachi's stomach. Had anyone been around to hear it, she would've been mortified! Getting out of the forest was a priority, but right now she needed food and water.

"Looks like I don't have a choice," Yachi said grimly. "All right, here goes nothing..."

And she knocked on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to lie: I LOATHE writing first chapters. On one hand, you want to draw readers in with something exciting or intriguing. On the other hand, you want to keep your story evenly-paced and not have all the good stuff happen right of the bat.
> 
> What do you guys think will be the first "tale" Yachi comes across? Many fairy tales take place in cabins/cottages in the woods so it might be difficult to guess. However, if someone guesses correctly I'll give them a shout-out when the next chapter is posted!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
